| Background:Higher levels of anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), the main arachidonic acid-derived endocannabinoids, are frequently reported in overweight and obese individuals. Recently,endocannabinoids have become a research interest in obesity area regarding their role in food intake. Therelationship between dietary patterns and endocannabinoids is poorly understood; therefore, this study evaluatedthe association of the dietary patterns with AEA and 2-AG levels in overweight and obese women.Methods:In this cross sectional study, 183 overweight and obese females from Tabriz, Iran who aged between 19and 50 years old and with mean BMI = 32.44 ± 3.79 kg/m2were interviewed. The AEA and 2-AG levels weremeasured, and the dietary patterns were assessed using food frequency questionnaire. To extract the dietarypatterns, factor analysis was applied. The association between AEA and 2-AG levels and dietary patterns wasanalyzed by linear regression.Results:Three major dietary patterns including“Western”,“healthy”, and“traditional”were extracted. After adjustingfor age, physical activity, BMI, waist circumference, and fat mass, higher levels of AEA and 2-AG were observed inparticipants who were in the highest quintile of the Western pattern (P< 0.05). Also, in both unadjusted andadjusted models, significantly lower levels of AEA and 2-AG were detected in the women of the highest quintile ofthe healthy pattern (P< 0.01). Moreover, there was no significant association between“traditional”pattern and AEAand 2- AG levels in both unadjusted and adjusted models (P> 0.05).Conclusion:In regard with the lower levels of endocannabinoids in healthy dietary pattern, adherence to healthypattern might have promising results in regulating endocannabinoids levels. |